Apps and Software
The Technology Behind the App on Your Phone
Native, cross-platform, web-based. Three options, three price tags. A crash course that makes you dangerous in meetings.
Transcript
Every app you use was built with something. Most people have no idea what. Here is a 3-minute crash course that will make you dangerous in meetings...
When someone says 'we need to build an app,' the first question is not 'what should it look like.' The first question is 'what should it be built with.' And unless you know the options, you are relying entirely on whoever you hire to make that decision for you. Which is a bit like asking a car salesman which car you should buy. There are three main approaches.
Native, cross-platform, and web-based. Let me explain all three without using any words that would make you fall asleep. Native means building a separate app for each platform.
One for iPhone. One for Android. Two codebases.
Two sets of maintenance. Two lots of cost. It can be worth it for very specific performance needs.
But for most businesses, there is a smarter option. Cross-platform means building one app that works on both. Our developer Matthew uses Flutter, which is Google's framework for exactly this.
One codebase, two platforms, beautiful performance. It is what we used to build SemaPen, which is a clinical weight loss platform that looks and feels like a premium native app. Then there are web apps.
These run in a browser but feel like an app. They are cheaper to build, easier to update, and do not need to go through the App Store approval process. For some projects, this is the smartest choice.
The right answer depends on your users, your budget, and what the app actually needs to do. Not what is trendiest. Not what a developer wants to learn.
What is right for your project. If you want to understand our full technology stack, there is a page on our website that explains every tool we use and why. Plain English.
No jargon. Link below.
